In the complex work of mergers and acquisitions, the payoff for your clients can be huge – but so can the risks. With numerous stakeholders, variable market conditions, and multiple revisions, the deal process can get derailed by any number of factors, including simple human errors. Clients need to trust their firms, so risks and failures can endanger your renewals, reputation, market position, employee morale, and operational efficiency.
Your clients depend on your expertise to keep their deals progressing smoothly. By using a thoughtful, predictive workflow, you can reduce errors and missed steps. Leveraging legal technology can help.
Jump to ↓
| Overcoming manual process hurdles in deal closures |
| Streamlining the transaction process |
| Integrating technology to enhance efficiency |
| Facilitating client communication and collaboration |
| Improving the process with technology |
Overcoming manual process hurdles in deal closures
If your workflow is consistent for each deal, that can provide a sense of comfort and confidence that your process works. But if your workflow includes manual processes, or ones that only you know, it can also introduce operational inefficiencies. Performing these manual tasks consumes time — time that could be better spent advancing the deal in other areas, like working with clients on more valuable tasks or even giving you time for business development.
Another major drawback of manual processes is the potential for human error. Even the most meticulous lawyers can make mistakes, and, depending on the process, multiple opportunities for errors can occur. For example, manually transcribing asset information can lead to false reporting, and if this data is later entered into a second system, the errors are multiplied.
A live poll during a Thomson Reuters transaction management webinar found that 53% of attendees said manual processes are the biggest hurdle to closing deals. They are often fragmented, leading to a “two steps forward, one step back approach” to dealmaking. This fragmentation makes it difficult to monitor progress, identify bottlenecks, and address other issues. Consequently, mistakes, frustrations, and misunderstandings are common.
Streamlining the transaction process
Some firms report they use between five and 10 disparate technology systems to manage a single deal, which can result in a host of issues. When functions vital to closing aren’t integrated, multiple versions of critical documents can arise.
The benefits of moving to a single, end-to-end transaction management process include reducing errors, closing deals faster, providing a better client experience, and demonstrating your firm’s expertise. Thomson Reuters transaction management solutions offer automated workflows, centralised repositories, and AI-powered data extraction. They use robust APIs that allow systems to “talk” to each other to ensure data integrity and to provide a comprehensive view of the deal at hand.
Integrating technology to enhance efficiency
Automating routine processes – those that don’t require strategy or expertise – can add efficiency to your workflow. In the legal realm, using technology can simplify complex M&A processes and make everyday tasks smoother and more efficient. Cloud-based solutions like HighQ, that also leverage legal artificial intelligence, can help law firms streamline collaboration, legal operations, and client management. It connects all stakeholders with customised access levels and granular permissions, enhancing your ability to serve clients effectively and providing a single source of truth. Having a unified, secure, and seamless platform allows for the automation of repetitive tasks, document assembly, and approvals.
Transaction solutions need three essential components: accurate data, subject matter expertise, and advanced technology. HighQ capitalises on Thomson Reuters’ exclusive content and the deep knowledge of Practical Law editors, with Practical Law content easily accessible throughout the transaction workflow. Then, their AI experts train and validate machine-learning models based on state-of-the-art AI technology to speed up the due diligence process. This combination results in a highly effective, guided deal process that saves lawyers time and costs.
Facilitating client communication and collaboration
Closing a deal can be an anxiety-provoking time for your clients. Steady, responsive communication helps ease their concerns. Providing a centralised platform for communication and collaboration can allow them to proactively view their deal status and documentation.
Centralised portals, deal rooms, and visual dashboards with “at a glance” status updates simplify internal and external collaboration by consolidating everything in one place: communications, document storage, task management, and status visualisation. A single, secure hub where everyone can meet and interact fosters connection and engagement with the matter and your team.
“The big benefits come from moving emails to HighQ and putting them as comments on documents during the negotiation process for our team,” said a KM professional. “This has saved dozens of emails per deal, made sure everyone was on the same page and has just made everything massively easier.”
|
Improving the process with technology
While every deal you close is unique, the process to get there shouldn’t be. Your clients count on you to keep their deals on time, on plan, and on budget. Using an end-to-end transaction management solution can dramatically change your workflow — for the better. It can:
- Reduce the risk of errors
- Save time by automating non-strategy tasks
- Improve internal and client communication
- Build your firm’s deal-closing reputation
To learn practical steps to optimise your transaction management process and gain deeper insights into efficiency and client collaboration, download the full Law firm success checklist: Transaction management.
 |
|
